The Secret You
by DynnaChae
Summary: From Viz Graphic Novels, Minagi decides to hang around the Masaki house for a while, causing Ryoko to evaluate who she really is. Perhaps Tenchi can help her. ^-~ FINAL CHAPTER IS UP!
1. Enter: Minagi

Enter: A new location of new sights and new sounds. One viewer, taking in her sights and committing them to memory. A most scenic setting of wind-blown grass. Trees lining the horizon, spilling out as far as the eye could see. A large opening, where she stood waiting. A peaceful setting, a serene setting, a quiet setting. No animal sang it's praises from the tree tops. Just utter silence and no one to break it. Beside her, a sleeping cabbit dared not even breathe hard enough to end the sweet serenity. She stood there waiting as the wind whipped through her cyan locks, the sun reflecting off it's silver hilights. Her amber portals flicking back and forth between her blind spots and the emptiness in front of her. Had this been any other situation, she'd have been on the defensive. Instead, she just stood, idly, waiting. Waiting for her...  
  
Minagi, as she had been named by her father, was Ryoko's perfect clone. Their trademark difference, the darkened areas of skin starting from mid cheek and extending downwards to the underside of her chin, had been the only thing that separated Angel from Malice. Mother from Daughter. One from another. The girl stood saying nothing, but remained quietly in front of her mirror image. Her one advantage, her sword abilities, were the only advantage she had over Ryoko. Eager to learn, and desperate to know all, Minagi's shoulders slumped just a bit as she worried about how she would match up to Ryoko.  
  
"Thank you... for meeting me here..." Minagi's eyes seemed worlds away as her melancholy tones set Ryoko on an unease.  
  
"Why a request to see me so privately? And why here?" Ryoko tilted her head just a bit to watch Minagi's expression.  
  
"Do you ever feel out of place?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Out of place. Do you ever feel like you don't belong with Tenchi and everyone else?" Minagi's words seemed to bring pain to her heart. Her forced words only meant that she found it difficult to speak about the things plaguing her mind. Truth was, they were deteriorating her heart. The girl lived such a lonely life for so long that she was afraid she'd die alone. Enough meditation on the subject brought her to these very circumstances. Sending an SOS out to Ryoko, Minagi requested to see her on the very land they both originated from.  
  
It was then and only then did Ryoko decide to truly gaze around her surroundings. As if on queue, buildings that she had overlooked before were of a strange structure. She'd come to this planet of no name to her knowledge, and she waited for Minagi to meet her as they planned. No interruptions, no extra company, just her ride and her wits about her. The land still baffled her, but she felt a nurturing, home-like feel to the place she'd been standing on. Before she could answer Minagi's question, the girl stepped away from her and pressed her hand into the thick grass.  
  
"A door was once here. A door to a lab that belonged to a genius. A young woman that locked herself in the lab all day. She once had a husband and a child, wrongfully taken from her. She vowed that she would never grow up. She swore that science would be her only love from now on. Here, she created a divine being with two assistants. Here, one assistant secretly stole DNA from that being. Here she was dreamt of, to be his greatest achievement. Here is where it all begins. Do you feel like you belong here?" Minagi pressed down on the grass, leaving an imprint of her hand in it's thickage. "Can you say you feel like you belong here?"  
  
"No more than I can say I feel I belong locked in a cave." Ryoko's arms dropped to her sides, and she sighed slowly. "To answer your question, I don't believe I belong anywhere in this world or maybe even the next. I won't complain, though. I just make fun the only way I can. I want to live for today. Tomorrow's another day."  
  
"Why couldn't I be like you, Ryoko? You're so carefree and naive." The girl gazed at her superior with a hint of envy.  
  
Ryoko laughed softly, "You don't want my life, but you do want companionship, ne? It's why you asked me to come out here, you were seeking some sort of fulfillment in having company." The girl threw her hands behind her head and put on her most innocent look. "Well it's not my place to invite you to live with us, but I'm sure Tenchi won't mind if you stick around for a while."  
  
In gratitude, the girl bowed her head and clasped her hands in front of her. "Thank you for your invitation, Ryoko!" Totally losing herself in her bliss, she embraced Ryoko as tight as she could and buried her head into the girl's shoulder. "You don't know how much it means to me to have a family, even at least for a little amount of time."  
  
Ryoko didn't know how to react to these situations. She never had a little sister look up to her and think the world of her. She was always judged by those that shunned her for her destructive actions. Actions she couldn't control. Now she had this girl that looked like her and talked like her and walked like her, and she loved her so very much. It made Ryoko feel bad to now know how to react. She simply wrapped her arms around the girl's back and patted her shoulder gently. "Let's go back, this place gives me the creeps."  
  
Ryoko wasn't a woman of many responsibilities. Taking on the task of playing role-model wasn't something she intended from the get-go, but now she had to remind herself constantly that she was a big sister. She had this new life to take care of. It was a responsibility she couldn't shrug off as easily as sweeping a front porch. The pressure to be at her best behavior threw her into a vortex of confusion. She braced herself everytime Minagi entered the room, feeling that she should sit up straight and hold her head up higher. She should curb her viscous tongue and not agitate the princess while Minagi watched her. She felt that she should be a bit more calm, though she was always painfully tense. Many a night she spent soaking her aching body in the onsen's peaceful waters, feeling like she had fought an entire war on her own, when the only war she fought was the one inside of her. Afraid to lose touch with herself, she'd hide from Minagi sometimes just to ease the tension of always looking over her shoulder. It was almost as if Ryoko was trying to be more like Minagi to keep Minagi from being more like her.  
  
Minagi had made herself useful in the house. Able to cook and clean, she helped Sasami a great deal. Tenchi offered her a room in the house, but she humbly declined, admitting that she enjoyed lodging with Washu because the little scientist was fun to learn from. She'd become another part of the family just as Mihoshi, Ryoko, Aeka and the rest had, but she kept her distance as well, always remembering that getting too attached would only result in heartbreak when she had to move on.   
  
It was during dinner one night, that Ryoko realized that she distanced herself from Minagi, fearing that she was not good enough to take care of her. She sat back, realizing that she hadn't done anything to change Minagi at all. Nothing changed between them. With a gentle click of chopsticks against a glass rice bowl, Ryoko quietly excused herself to be alone.  
  
No one had noticed the change in her, except for one person.  
  
End of Ch. 1 


	2. Ryoko the Mentor

Ryoko felt an emptiness inside of her that cried to be filled. A gaping void that only engulfed the darker, more miserable things about herself. Was she a failure at living altogether? Why the sudden conscience within her?  
  
"Ryoko? Do you mind if I sit with you?" Came a far off voice.  
  
"Sure." Ryoko's tone came noncommittal, with a hint of cold.  
  
Here sat the one that intruded her deepest thoughts. The intruder sat peacefully, hoping to say something, without overstepping her boundaries. Minagi shyly glanced at Ryoko's miserable demeanor and breathed deep. "I wanted to thank you, for everything you've done for me." The girl lowered her head, feeling shy about talking to Ryoko. "The truth is, I've always admired you and thought you were such an amazing person. Even when I had to hear all the roumors about how you had such a bloody past, I knew that you still had to be amazingly strong to pull off such things."  
  
"Enough."  
  
Minagi visibly shrank in Ryoko's shadow created by the moon beaming down on her back. Though she backed the moon, her eyes glowed with a sort of life that you'd see in that of a god's. They locked eyes, Minagi frozen in fear and Ryoko contemplating more than she ever had ever in her life.  
  
"Don't think so well of me. Here I am, I invited you here and I can't even entertain you properly. You were my guest, but I handed you over like leftovers to the rest of the house. I wanted to make sure you never turned out like me, and that you shunned the way I used to act. But I don't want to relive it, so don't mention the way I acted. I wanted to forget it so that you could never live it to begin with." Ryoko lowered her head. "You... you deserve better than living with the memories of my past..."  
  
Minagi couldn't think to do anything more than hug Ryoko who lost her resolve and gave way to light tears that cleansed the past from her soul. A past that Minagi never judged her for, it was just there. A past that was as dead as all of Ryoko's victims. The girl retaliated on insecurities, and Minagi just wanted to be the one to reassure her that no one was judging her for the way she was - when she wasn't really herself.  
  
Having said that. Who was the real Ryoko?  
  
A third party quietly slipped back into the house after he realized he wasn't needed in this situation.  
  
Ryoko sat upright on a chosen rafter, high above the room the next morning. She glanced down at Aeka with so much contempt that she felt she could kick the girl without even moving. So much time of pent up agitation finally exploded within her as she descended her perch to wind back and knock Aeka over when she wasn't expecting it. Positioning herself, she rolled up her sleeve and stuck out her elbow when she was about the deliver the shocking blow. Minagi entered the room just then. Ryoko's swing stopped only fractions of centimeters away from Aeka's side, the girl quickly grabbed a pillow and started fluffing it.  
  
"Aah Ryoko! You've gotten off your lazy behind and decided to help with the chores!" The princess decided she would milk it for all it was worth. "For once you're not being a total burden on this family and pulling your weight." Looking thoughtful she added. "You have a lot more pulling than that if your weight is what you're intending to pull..." Aeka's less-than-graceful cackle only drove Ryoko insane with rage.  
  
Minagi shook her head and turned to enter Washu's lab. Snatching her opportunity by the hair, Ryoko glared daggers at Aeka. "I dare you to say another word and I'll knock you back to the throne of Jurai..."  
  
The air around both the women heated up, as sparks flew with vitality unknown. Ryoko had been looking for a good spar these days, and now Aeka initiated one. Perhaps the princess had been pent up as well. Ready to attack, Minagi reached out to take Ryoko's hand.   
  
"Thank you, Princess Aeka. That'll be all." The girl dragged a rather perplexed Ryoko out of the room by her wrist.   
  
Aeka waved gracefully. "Any time, Minagi!" She then proceeded to clean the living room.  
  
Now outside, and rubbing her wrist, Ryoko said nothing, but stared blankly at Minagi. Ryoko's double smiled with a bit of mischief in her grin, before leaning forward. "Tell me, why do you pretend to be someone you're not?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Why do you act so differently when you can see that I'm in the room?"  
  
Ryoko shuddered when she remembered that Minagi was linked with her. Even if she wasn't in the room, her actions were as plain as day to her double. "Damn..."  
  
"I mean it. You try to be so nonchalant whenever I'm physically around." Minagi felt a bit ashamed that Ryoko changed just to make her comfortable.  
  
Ryoko stepped forward, then stepped back. She wanted to walk away, but instead she stood and stared hopelessly at Funaho's roots coming out of the water. "Can't knock this feeling that I have to be a role model."  
  
"You don't have to be anything more than Ryoko. I like Ryoko. She's made me who I am, and I like me. Don't you like me?" Minagi loved to fall into childish banter whenever she could. She grabbed Ryoko's hand with both of hers and held it so the woman couldn't walk away. In secret, Minagi was giving Ryoko what she wanted, a chance to give the girl guidance. Perhaps Minagi had been too difficult to allow Ryoko to communicate with her in a way she felt it easy to. Now she fully understood that Ryoko was showing a true part of herself. A mature and motherly side of her. It made the girl prideful to know that Ryoko wanted to guide her and motivate her to do the right things.   
  
Was this who Ryoko really was?  
  
Ryoko's soft smile spread, and transformed into a fit of laughter. "Yea, I you're an OK kid." The two girls laughed together, as if they'd known each other forever.  
  
Minagi smiled to herself as she held onto Ryoko's hand. "Ryoko, promise me something."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Promise me that you'll be yourself, no matter how much you think you'll influence me to act. I want to know the real Ryoko. The one that smiles so brightly and doesn't hold anything back. All I've seen is this really melancholy Ryoko. One that hides and sulks and contemplates too much. That's not you! You wanna have..."  
  
"FUN!" Ryoko clasped her hand over Minagi's. "I wanna have fun!"  
  
"Ya-ku-so-ku?" Minagi squeezed Ryoko's hand tighter on every syllable.  
  
"Yakusoku!" Ryoko squeezed tightly in one, sweeping grip of the girl's hand.  
  
The two girls smiled so hard, their faces started to hurt. It was agreed, then, that Ryoko would be herself, and Minagi would be herself. Together, they would be a whole.  
  
Tenchi pushed his bokken over his shoulder and quietly ascended the steps to the shrine, where he had stopped momentarily to admire the site of Funaho, but also was able to see the transformation of another goddess right before his very eyes.  
  
The true Ryoko who he rarely sees.  
  
End of Ch. 2 


	3. Who is Ryoko?

Minagi's presence was now common among the Masaki residence. She seemed to blend in with everyone, thought it seemed like everyone else stuck out like sore thumbs. Alien girls were aliens, indeed, that they took on a feature or two that wasn't quite human. The house kept up a peaceful aura, accompanied by one or two arguments every-so-often, but it would always be Tenchi's home.  
  
Quickly peeking around a corner, Ryoko inhaled sharply and rounded the corner. She approached the living room with a bit of hesitation and shot across the room before anyone could see her. Now at the door of the lab, she phased herself into the fibers of the wall where she thought she wouldn't be seen, and what wiser, where no one would expect to search for her - so close to Washu's lab.   
  
Tenchi, who had taken quite an interest in Ryoko's strange actions, only sat and watched her from the kitchen, twisting and turning his head every so often to keep up with her darting actions. No sooner did he find a new position to get a good look at Ryoko in, that Minagi slowly entered the room and stood right in the center. Now things were getting interesting. What was it that the two of them were doing?  
  
Her sword brandished, Minagi tensed up before she would have to defend herself against what she was sensing out anyway. Ryoko charged, full speed at the girl, knocking her through the wall and falling onto the front lawn. The very shock of the girl's moving at such speeds caused Tenchi to fall off his chair and hit the ground with a painful THUD.  
  
"You OK, Tenchi?" Sasami bent over him with a soup spoon. "Why don't you just stand and watch them play?  
  
"Play?" Tenchi's expression softened.   
  
"Yea. They're always play-fighting. They'll end up passed out on the front lawn by the time dinner is finished. Usually they just sit out there and talk the whole time." Sasami smiled softly as she tended to the food. "They really act like they're sisters."  
  
It had dawned upon Tenchi, that he hadn't noticed the subtle change in Ryoko. Her new-found maturity was a front, or was it? When he'd get home from school, he'd rarely see the girl do more than sleep or lounge about, but her afternoons were action-packed with Minagi at her heels. His only day off from school showed him what it was like when he wasn't around. Everything seemed so much more peaceful and civil when he wasn't the topic of someone's heated argument. Laughing to himself just a bit he stuck his hands in his pockets and stepped out side whispering, "Tenchi Muyo, indeed." He chuckled softly and approached the two girls that had collapsed into a fit of giggles.   
  
"Hey you two." He waved to show he came in peace. "What are you two doing?"  
  
Ryoko stood to her feet and glanced down at Minagi. "Exercise." Helping Minagi up, she pushed passed him and retreated to the onsen for a bit of relaxation.  
  
"I wonder what's wrong with her?" Tenchi watched Ryoko fade away.  
  
Minagi dusted her clothes off and smiled at Tenchi. "She seems to be a bit insecure around the both of us being together at the same time. I guess she doesn't know how she should act. I say she should act like Ryoko would act."  
  
"Ryoko acting like Ryoko would mean I'd be in a headlock now." Tenchi rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
"Ryoko acting like Ryoko the way Ryoko wants Minagi to see her means she'd laugh and invite you to romp around with us." Minagi looked thoughtful when she realized the difference between the Ryoko Tenchi saw and the Ryoko that Minagi saw.  
  
"Ryoko acting like she doesn't know how to be Ryoko means she just vanishes to get away from the trouble of performing at all." came a third voice.  
  
Tenchi and Minagi looked over their shoulders to see Washu standing there with a smug look and her little arms crossed. "A clash of characters, I'd say."  
  
Minagi turned around fully to address Washu. "Little Washu, why doesn't she just treat us all the same?"  
  
Washu's smug look turned to the softened expression a mother would give as she spoke about her sleeping child. "She doesn't know what's appropriate when it comes to encountering you, Minagi. She feels more like..." Washu stared at Tenchi "She feels more like herself..."  
  
"Herself?" Minagi looked confused.  
  
"Yup." Washu chirped.  
  
"When you think you know Ryoko, you've actually only seen one side of her." Tenchi smiled softly.  
  
Washu turned back towards the house, walking with no intentions of waiting for the other two to join her. She let the door close behind her, as she set the scene. "I'm just too brilliant for these people. Sometimes love needs a jump-start."  
  
Minagi blinked and then slowly exhaled, now aware of Washu's childish intentions. She glanced at Tenchi and grinned. "Well, I'm going inside to help Sasami with dinner, why don't you go keep Washu company?"  
As if by instinct (which it was becoming...) Tenchi's hands shout out defensively as a gentle blush warmed his face. "No thanks, I'll stay out here and enjoy the fresh air."  
  
"Suit youuurrrr-self, Masaki!" Minagi winked and left him standing there by himself.  
  
He watched her fade as his arms fell back to his sides. He wondered what her last words to him were before she parted, but he didn't feel like making much of the situation, as his mind was being tugged elsewhere. Without really thinking, he started to walk. Not having any set destination, he only hoped he wouldn't end up at the top of the steps of the shrine, ready to be attacked by his grandfather. Instead, he found himself starting up at the onsen idly, where he knew Ryoko was.  
  
Inside, Ryoko had found it safe enough to drop any and all resolves she'd put up that morning. A resolve against Minagi, a resolve against Tenchi, she didn't know which way to act around the conflicting parties. Perhaps she should just be herself.  
  
"Who am I?" She placed her hands to her face, dampening the soft skin of her cheeks. She exhaled slowly, sliding her knees up to her chest and pushing herself into a small corner of the onsen. If this was the world, she never felt smaller in it. It's when you don't realize who you are, that you realize how insignificant you can be at times. Determined to find her place among the Masakis as Minagi had so easily done, Ryoko searched her deepest thoughts to figure out just what came naturally to her.  
  
Enough meditation on the subject, Ryoko finally pulled her body out of the warm waters and donned the usual house clothes, ready to appear to Minagi and Tenchi once more as "Ryoko", the "Ryoko" only they knew of. She wanted to phase back to the house, as usual, but this time she figured she'd enjoy a walk back to the house, trying to sort out her thoughts and remember her roles as she would have to portray them to said person at any given time.  
  
Stepping out of the door of the onsen, Ryoko bumped square into Tenchi. His face burned bright red, but her expression seemed to outdo his greatly. In an instant, her look of shock and embarrassment turned into a mischievous grin. "Were you coming to visit me, Tenchi?" She traced a finger in circles around his chest. "I wouldn't mind going back in if you're going to join me."  
  
Tenchi's hands rested theirs over Ryoko's as they did many times before. From there, they'd push her hands away and he'd defensively step away. "Well... I was just wandering about, this is where I ended up."   
  
Ryoko looked down at his hands. He hadn't moved them from on top of hers. In fact, he was holding her in place, her hands pressed against his heart. Her face burned with the blush of excitement that Tenchi was actually holding her so close. He caught glance of her expression and immediately realized that he was still holding on to her. Moving his hands away from hers, he tucked them in his pockets and looked innocent. "It's dinnertime, why don't we start back to the house?" He started walking without her. He got a good distance away from her before he turned to acknowledge that she wasn't by his side. "Aren't you coming?"  
  
"I'm not so hungry." She lowered her head. "Go on without me."  
  
Tenchi could've responded to that, but he attacked something that had been burning in his mind; now he would force his mouth to speak it. "When Minagi got here, you changed a lot." His back remained turned so that Ryoko would not see his faltering expression. One of worry and regret that he had brought up something she'd been trying so hard to hide.  
  
"New company brings new situations brings new reactions." Now Ryoko had her back turned to his back. She was about ready to retreat back into the Onsen where the world was bigger than her, but not as vast as the space between the Onsen and the house.  
  
"Ryoko?" Tenchi decided to keep up this conversation, even if neither of them could see each other. "I like this..." He cut his sentence there and started to walk back to the house.  
  
The melancholy pirate pressed her hand against the Onsen to enter it, but froze on Tenchi's last words. Tenchi had admitted he liked *something* about her. She didn't know what it was, though. He didn't finish what he wanted to say. Her shoulders slumping, she pulled her hand away from the door and glanced over her shoulder at Tenchi's disappearing form. He'd made the turn around the bend in the river and was heading back to the house. Now more than ever, she was afraid to act any specific way around anyone. She decided to skip dinner that night.  
  
^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^;  
  
"What have we here?" A voice laced with childish humor stung Ryoko's ears.  
  
Ryoko poked around Washu's lab, playing with things she hoped wouldn't explode in her face if she turned them at an odd angle. "Got nothing better to do. Mind if I hang around?"  
  
"Well..." Washu resumed her normal know-it-all attitude and studied her holocomputer. "If you're going to hang round, you might as well help out."  
  
Ryoko handed Washu a pile of documents and sat beside her. "Yea, I figured that was coming."  
  
"Not bad." Washu studied the equations. "I never did underestimate your ability to understand."   
  
"I seem to be surprising people with my personality everywhere." Ryoko sighed slowly.  
  
Washu smiled softly "Well, you mature from your responsibilities."  
  
"Responsibilities?"   
  
"From taking care of Minagi."  
  
If possible, Ryoko looked sadder than before. "I haven't done anything to take care of her."  
  
"But you care for her, and you watch over her and do your best to mentor her. You train with her and try to keep her from being exposed to the bad things around us. I'd say you're doing a very good job of being responsible for her. You're truly a good big sister." The little scientist rested her hand on Ryoko's, hoping to calm her shaking a bit.  
  
"Who am I, Washu? You made me, you should know." Ryoko's tears flowed from her saddened amber eyes.  
  
Washu's heart went out to Ryoko as the girl finally opened her heart to allow her true face to show. "I created an innocent being no different in heart and soul than a human. Who you are is who you choose to be. You have all these different masks in which you hide who you really are from the world. If you're going to hide, I can't stop you, but don't forget who you really are."  
  
Ryoko slowly wiped her eyes and laughed softly. "Are you happy now? Now that I'm treating you like my mother?"  
  
"I'm just more glad that you're willing to see that the you that you try to be isn't the you that you really are." Washu smiled brightly. "You should get some sleep. There's a room in the back."  
  
"Thanks for everything, Washu."  
  
"A-HEM!"  
  
"Little Washu..." Ryoko rolled her eyes and let the door close behind her. 


	4. Minagi's Announcement

Ryoko slowly opened her eyes, that morning, in a new environment. It flashed back into her mind that she had sleep in Washu's lab, but this... was not even the Lab. The girl did nothing more to sit up than pick her head up and gaze at her surroundings, it seemed that she was in a lush forest with the most beautiful trees she'd ever seen. Beneath her, a blanket of grass spread out as far as her eyes could see. "Real funny, Washu. Put me on Jurai...". It was then that she tried to lift her arms and realized she couldn't. Her arms and legs, bound to the ground by creatively made harnesses that resembled roots, held her in place. She was only angry at herself for trusting the little scientist to leave her in peace. Ryoko brought it upon herself when she asked Washu to stay. She had no idea what she was in for, or what kind of experiment she'd have to endure, but one thing seemed more right to say than any other time before...  
  
"DAMN YOU, WASHU!"  
  
Washu's ears perked at her malice in which her darling daughter had cursed her name as she'd done many times before. Suppressing a giggle, she continued to eat breakfast as peacefully as she started, shooing Tenchi childish grins between bites.   
  
"Say, has anyone seen Ryoko?" Minagi scanned the table sadly. "I wanted to talk to her."  
  
"Mm hmm! She's tied up in my lab with a beautiful Jurai scenery all around her. I thought she would like it!" Washu grinned.  
  
Aeka couldn't do more than to simply cover her mouth to hold back her raucous laughter. She wanted to see this more than anyone, but when she saw Minagi's face, she decided it would be best to remain silent.   
  
"Oh Little Washu! That's not funny! She hates that place!" Minagi felt melancholy, thinking that Ryoko may be suffering.  
  
This time when Washu glanced at Tenchi, her stare was a bit more stoic. "Why doesn't her brave Jurian knight save her?"  
  
Minagi and Tenchi stood from the table at the same time. "You got a weird way of getting to the point, Little Washu." Tenchi walked past Washu with Minagi hot on his heels.  
  
Ryoko realized that struggling only made the situation worse, the binds began to tighten around her wrists to a painful degree. Tenchi glanced down at her and smiled softly. It did look kinda funny to see Ryoko in a Jurai landscape, just laying relaxed. Minagi had already started pulling at the bindings when Tenchi held out his hand. "Nothing's going to let up more than me undoing the bindings. This is Washu's intent. She's so meddlesome sometimes."   
  
Tenchi pulled Ryoko from the ground with ease. The girl's face was a complex of emotions at the time. She looked between Minagi and Tenchi slowly before walking off in a silent rage. She would've loved to throttle Washu, but she just stormed out of the house, not knowing where to go.  
  
She vanished for a while, no one seemed to know where she went, except for one. Minagi watched her from afar, sighing everytime the girl shifted uncomfortably around the uncomfortable branches of the Funaho. With the tree in full bloom, even if she sat only meters away from the house, no one would see her at all.  
  
Nightfall brought Ryoko from her hiding space and Minagi from her watch-post. Ryoko had been partial to taking baths by herself for a while. She settled back into the waters of the hotspring, hoping to forget today as she'd forgotten so many others.  
  
"Ryoko?" Came the almost-whisper of an intruder.  
  
Ryoko's hand rose from her side and motioned for Minagi to join her. "Why do you bother asking if you can join me?"  
  
Minagi smiled softly and sat beside her. "Because it's polite."  
  
"Is something wrong?" The pirate asked, noticing the sadness in Minagi's voice.   
  
"I wanted to spend my last night here with you." Minagi lowered her head and brought it to her knees which she had pulled up to her chest.  
  
Ryoko set down her glass and fully turned to Minagi. "You're leaving?" She sounded a bit sad herself.  
  
"I can't stay here forever..." The younger girl sounded much more grave than before.  
  
In her vast vocabulary, Ryoko could only think to say one thing. "WHY NOT?" She withdrew her rising temper and slumped in the waters. "Why can't you stay longer?" She felt like she was losing her sister.  
  
"I can't stay forever, Ryoko, you know that. There are so many things I wanted in this life I thought I would never have. I wanted a family, a mother, friends. I wanted the chance to laugh freely and be with people who cared. I wanted a real home cooked meal from someone who wanted to make it for me and a chance to help with chores and hear the words 'thank you' from someone I was giving something to that I didn't have to initially steal to get. Most of all, I wanted a sister. I just wanted you." The girl watched her reflection in the waters, truly realizing how much like Ryoko she looked like, and how much like Ryoko she actually was. In all her pursuit to impress, she wondered if she was acting like the real Minagi as well.  
Ryoko wrapped her arms around one of Minagi's and pulled her closer. "If you leave, who will I play with?" She started to sound childish, purposely switching roles with Minagi as Minagi, herself, had done just a minute ago.   
  
The two girls smiled softly at each other, before Minagi rested her free hand over Ryoko's. "Perhaps we haven't been acting not like ourselves, perhaps we've just been exposed to a new part of ourselves, a part we've never seen before."  
  
"So you bring out the good in me, is what you're saying?" Ryoko half-smiled in an almost cocky way.  
  
Minagi laughed. "You bring out the good in you, I was just around to witness it."  
  
"We are... closer than we think, aren't we?" Ryoko's voice lowered.  
  
Minagi's face filled with a healthy blush. "Closer than we'd at least admit to Washu."  
  
"So we'll always be connected, right? You'll always keep in touch?" The half-goddess tightened her grip on Minagi's arm. "Yakusoku?"  
  
"I promise, Ryoko. I'll never be too far that you can't see through my eyes and feel what I feel." Minagi's eyes began to water, realizing that she really was leaving.  
  
"Let's just stay here and talk for a while longer then." Ryoko rested her head on Minagi's shoulder. "I don't want you to go just yet."  
  
The girls spent the night in the onsen together.  
  
Tenchi, who would have valued the alone-time that this gave him, only ended up at the door of the Onsen again. With no intentions of entering, he only stood at the portal the sub-dimension, waiting for any action to occur. Unfortunately, he'd have to spend half the night waiting before anything would happen. Not wanting this to happen, Washu placed her hand over Tenchi's and gently pushed it away from the door.  
  
"If you're just going to stand there, at least make a way for someone else to get in." She spoke softly, never intending to go in.   
  
Tenchi smiled softly to himself. "I'm sorry."   
  
"The only thing that's sorry is that you're so afraid to speak up." The little scientist pushed him from the door. "Sometimes I wonder where your mind is at."  
  
Not wanting to turn Washu away because he wanted to talk to someone about his feelings, he sat by the door and motioned for Washu to sit down. "It's not so easy, Washu. I want to take her feelings into consideration. It's like... she doesn't want anyone to see how vulnerable she could be, so you want to grant her the ability to be comfortable, but I want to appear to her as a Tenchi who cares for her. To do that, she'd have to drop all her guards. Do you think the Ryoko that faces off with Aeka in battle mode would really be able to register anything I'd have to say.? Perhaps the Ryoko that interacts with Minagi would, but it's so hard to see that side of her, because she acts like the reason she puts up guards in the first place is just to get away from me." The boy lowered his head and sighed. "I'm not going to do her any harm by saying I love you."  
  
Washu's smile only spread.  
  
"Why are you smiling?"  
  
The young scientist picked her head up and glanced at the Onsen door, set wide open, Ryoko and Minagi stood in the doorway between dimensions. Ryoko's face was visibly red, and she pushed Minagi out in front of her to hide her face.  
  
Tenchi lowered his head once more upon seeing that Ryoko had discovered his true feelings for her. Both unable to speak, they looked away, leaving the room in absolute silence.  
  
XD I thought this chapter would never end! 


	5. It's YOU Who He Loves

Without missing a beat, Washu swung her arm around Minagi's and silently pulled the young girl away from tension's breeding ground. Ryoko was left alone to face Tenchi and discuss such the frightening subject that was love. Had she ever had to directly tell Tenchi that she loved him, she'd fold like delicate paper in the origami artist's hands. Graceful fingers bending her spine in a way as to bring her into view and show what she had hidden there so long. Tenchi took a long pause before looking up at Ryoko, hoping to make the situation lighter. Hoping to find a way to laugh off anything he might have said.  
  
Instead, there was a painful peace within them and a torturous tension between them. With feelings on the onsen floor, who would say what, and when and why? How would Aeka react? When does Ryoko get to live the life of her dreams as opposed to the reality she had to face? Tenchi would have to really know Ryoko, but Ryoko didn't even know Ryoko.  
  
At any respectful time, Tenchi would have spoken. And when he found the time right, Minagi had broken free of Washu and approached the two of them again. She panicked for a fleeting moment, wondering if it was the right time to intervene. Hoping Tenchi would understand, she only phased away with Ryoko who didn't seem reluctant to leave the situation.   
  
Minagi positioned Ryoko between a large boulder and herself at the farthest reaches of the forest, softly illuminated a motherly glow of orange by the setting sun. The girl thought to speak and then held back. She took a deep breath.   
  
"You are you." Minagi's only words came after deepest contemplation.  
  
"What?" Ryoko's voice came softly, more in unenthusiastic fake response than actual curiosity.  
  
"I mean, you are Ryoko. A girl, much like myself, who just wants to find her place in the world. Who wants to carve a niche that fits her just perfectly. You are an adventurer and a louse, you're a troublemaker and a problem solver. You're every complicated thing in the world, and then you're it's solution. Ryoko, you are who you are and no one can change that. I spent all last night just trying to figure out who you were. I asked questions about who you were and the only thing I could think to answer it was simply who you are. You are Ryoko. You're not some grand, divine being sent to us to terrorize or create, you were simply put here to be you. You don't search within yourself for the answers to the questions you ask yourself. Don't doubt yourself." The young woman spoke. "Don't fail to give yourself credit as well." Minagi took Ryoko's hand. "Look at the world around us. We're given all these pointless little convinces that only add up to something when they're one whole, functioning unit. We have Earth. A home, a place to love and be loved in. You take every part of you, the part that's shy and the part that's sad and angry and happy and even malicious. The part that innocent and the part that's suffered tragedy and you are simply you. You can't be anything more than Ryoko. It's what you've needed to be told for a long time."  
Ryoko made a weak attempt to stop trembling enough to lean forward and embrace Minagi. It seemed like the only thing she could do. She wanted to transfer all her fears and worries off onto someone who could take them and destroy them for her, she learned, though, that she'd have to do that herself. Minagi pat Ryoko's back for a moment. A gentle smile passed her lips as she thought to be as mischievous as Washu just once before she left. Slowly backing away from Ryoko, she faded out. Where she stood, Tenchi fell and stumbled forward, crashing into Ryoko. Minagi thanked her flair for physics as she floated from her location, hovering over the two. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall on you. She tossed me at such an angle... I..." Tenchi rubbed the back of his head and gazed up at Ryoko.  
  
"It's no place you've never been. I can recount a few times you've ended up in my cleavage." Ryoko tried to lighten the situation just a bit.  
  
Tenchi lowered his head. "Yea, I'm really sorry about that... about all of this, Ryoko. I'm really sorry that you found out that way."  
  
Ryoko felt herself losing composure. She felt herself bending as if it were about to begin. Her stomach was the first to go. It knotted up, but butterflies still found ways to attack her stomach. Her skin turned pale, but she knew she had to say it. "Tenchi? I'm not sorry you said any of that stuff. Because..." It was getting harder for her to admit it. "Because I love you too."  
  
Tenchi's face flushed the way it would if he were surprised. He didn't know why it was so surprising to hear Ryoko utter the words she'd let her actions speak so boldly so many times before. It just felt to him like they were having a civil moment where they could connect. It didn't seem like Ryoko to be so calm and graceful around him, but instead, the Minagi's version of Ryoko he'd seen only days before. They'd both never admit it, but this was the way they were both their happiest.   
  
Minagi crouched low in a tree branch, more worried that Washu would drag her off than being caught by the two. Smiling softly, she hoped the best for them.  
  
End of Ch.  
-It's a short chapter... but I didn't know where to go but UP XD. I need sleep. 


	6. Aeka's Melancholy

Her delicate fingers trailed over the soft silk of the gown her mother had just sent her from her home planet. Everytime she felt a bit homesick, her mother was right there with something to remind her of Jurai. Placing the fabric to her nose, she took in the scent of Jurai's fresh, clean scent. A scent Earth seemed to lack. It was the smell of rebirth. Of life anew and happier days to come. Letting the fabric pour through her fingers like water, Aeka lovingly gazed down at the gown that she'd hope to wear for a special someone one night.  
  
Unbeknownst to her, two women stood outside her door, gazing in with a look of concern.  
  
"I wonder, sometimes, if she really knows and she's just lying to herself." The first woman spoke.  
  
"I don't know, she seems way too happy to be faking it." The bright-eyed blonde spoke as softly as the first woman.  
  
"It's strange, ya know Mihoshi?" Kiyone turned to gaze at her partner.  
  
"What is, Kiyone?" Mihoshi leaned against the wall to which she was standing beside.  
  
"The fact that you haven't already bumbled into Aeka's room one of these days announcing that Tenchi and Ryoko have been secretly in love." The teal-haired detective shot Mihoshi a look of concern.  
  
Mihoshi lowered her head. "I'm afraid that if I say anything, she'll leave and never come back...". The girl, far too emotional for her own good, let her eyes water. "I don't want her to leave."  
  
Kiyone reached over and placed her hand on Mihoshi's shoulder. "You're a good person, Mihoshi. Your brain is damaged, but you have a very good heart."  
  
"Kiyone! You're so sweet!" The blonde locked Kiyone in a bone-crushing embrace.  
  
Aeka ignored the shuffling outside her room, assuming it was nothing more than someone walking by her door. She lowered her head a bit, allowing her bangs to fall in her face. Placing the silk gown in her lap, it caught a drop of moisture, a drop that wanted to desperately to fall. The princess buried her face in her hands and wept ever so quietly, trying not to let anyone know of her melancholy. Did she know that Tenchi and Ryoko were trying to be secretive of their love? She knew all too well...  
  
The princess did well to hold herself high, bickering with Ryoko when it seemed like she could finally look the deamoness in the eyes just once more before her composure would come crashing down like a child swatting down a pile of blocks. She felt like someone was stabbing her through the heart everytime Tenchi smiled softly at Ryoko, Ryoko sharing the same warm smile with him. They tried to be secretive, but no one knows better of the change in a person in love with someone else, than the one who loves him more. She wanted to fight about it and sob and cry. She wanted to know just what Ryoko had that she didn't. She wished every secret of love could be revealed to her in an instant, and in the next she wish she never knew anything of love.   
  
Dabbing her eyes gently, Aeka pulled herself together, hoping no one heard her few muffled sobs. She didn't know if she wanted to go home, but she didn't want to burden the family by making them feel guilty that she wanted to leave this wretched place where love didn't love her. She drew back her head and took a deep breath, trying to dry her eyes and clear any signs of misery from her face. Applying a soft amount of makeup to her face, she could hide her redness, but she couldn't hide her resentment. Her resentment for everything that once gave her comfort. The princess turned and gazed out of the corner of her eyes. She'd been homesick a lot since Tenchi and Ryoko fell in love. There were far too many boxes piled up in the room, so many that Sasami had to turn her futon just so that she could sleep without causing a wall of boxes to come crashing down on her head when she shuffled in her sleep.   
  
The little princess knew nothing of Aeka's feelings. For that, Aeka was most proud. You could lie to the world, but you couldn't get a thing by Sasami. She treated every day as if it were the day before Tenchi confessed his love to Ryoko. Everyone found out in their own little ways. Even Mihoshi figured it out soon enough. Minagi procrastinated leaving, hoping Tenchi would make an announcement instead of hiding his love in the dark. She felt that Ryoko deserved a bit better than secret rendezvous and hidden letters to her that he scribbled in class before he came home. She wished for a bit more, but never said anything. Realizing that time may never come, she decided it would be best to leave that weekend, hoping the best for the three of them: Tenchi, Ryoko and Aeka.  
  
That night, Tenchi had engrossed himself in his studies, pulling his hair out and chanting about how finals will be the death of him. Ryoko would wander around in circles, following Minagi like a lost puppy, but stealing glances at Tenchi who was stealing glances at her. Minagi would leave the room and Ryoko would be hot on her heels, Tenchi would angle his head to see what they were up to. Minagi would swat Ryoko away, telling her to go do something else, but the pirate playfully annoyed Minagi until they ended up brawling on the kitchen floor, much to Sasami's dismay.  
  
When the two finally part. Tenchi had already thrown his books across the room and gone to sleep. Ryoko spent a good ten seconds debating whether she should go into Tenchi's room or if she should return to her perch before crawling beneath Tenchi's arm and settling into sleep. He'd never object, just worry like hell that it would be the night that Aeka walked in on them.  
  
Minagi had moved from Washu's lab to the guest room, just beyond Tenchi and the princess' room. As she tried her best to creep by, the door to the room where Aeka and Sasami slept gently cracked open. She stopped her walking and levitated above the floor, cursing her stupidity for not thinking to do that sooner. Aeka stepped out of the darkened room.   
  
"Minagi..." The princess' eyes were tear-soaked.  
  
Immediately Minagi's heart went out to her. She didn't want to choose sides in this matter, she'd already done more than she should've to bring Ryoko and Tenchi together, she didn't want to go around rubbing salt into the wounds it created. She sighed slowly and lowered herself to the floor. Offering a sleeve to Aeka, she didn't know what else to do.  
  
"I'm sorry, Aeka..." Minagi lowered her head once she got her sleeve back.  
  
"There's nothing 'I'm sorry' can atone for, though it wasn't your fault. This is just the way things are meant to be, but I want to ask a favor of you." The princess stood regal, though she was falling apart in front of Minagi's eyes.  
  
"What's that?" The girl felt a bit worried.  
  
Aeka locked eyes with Minagi. A stare of seriousness, a stare of desperation. Minagi felt in a heartbeat that she wouldn't be saying no to this request. The princess sighed slowly and looked away. "When you leave this weekend, I wish to go with you. Could you possibly take me back to Jurai without anyone knowing?"  
  
Minagi's jaw dropped. "How am I supposed to do that?! You hopping on my ship looks pretty obvious!" She raised her voice.  
  
Aeka clamped her hand over Minagi's. "I will depart for your ship before anyone notices I'm gone. If they ask on the day you leave, simply say I went for a walk and should be back soon. Say we said our good-byes earlier, and that you're ready to go. I'd have already been packed and on your ship... I wish fo---"  
  
The shocked pirate pulled Aeka's hand from her mouth. "This is insane, you can't just leave all this behind without saying something. You want to leave Sasami to worry about you?"  
  
"She'll know when I get there."  
  
"This is immature! I won't do it!" Minagi threw her hand out at her side as if to show that she won't budge.  
  
Feeling that she was about to lose this battle, Aeka fell to her knees and held her head. "It's either this, or I'll have to find other means of escape, even if it costs me my life."  
  
Wonderful! The death of the first princess of Jurai on her head! Minagi's brow twitched thinking about how badly she'd feel about being the reason why Aeka had to go and kill herself. For more reasons than one, she felt like she owed it to Aeka make right what she did wrong. After all, it was her that coaxed Tenchi and Ryoko to fall in love. She'd made her bed, now she'd have to lie in it. She'd have to take Aeka home, because she owed it to the princess to grant her freedom, but not on these terms.  
  
"I'll do it on one condition. If, for any reason, you feel that this condition is unfair and you will not comply with it, if you show even the slightest hesitation in my condition, I will not take you and what you do will be all on your head. Not mine. Are we understood?" Minagi sounded monotone. She didn't want to go through with it, now she was dragging herself through the mud saying that there was something better to result from this.  
  
Aeka looked up at Minagi. "This condition?"  
  
"Tell Sasami that you are leaving. Swear her to secrecy if you'd like, but never lie to your sister, you'll never know how much she means to you until you don't have her anymore." The girl looked at Tenchi's room, thinking of Ryoko blissfully ignorant of everything going on just a few meters away from her.  
  
"I will. In the morning I will privately tell her." Aeka lowered her head once more.  
  
Minagi extended her hand to help the princess up. "Then I will take you home." Saying nothing more, she walked towards her room, guilt welling up inside her heart and overflowing. 


	7. One Big Happy Family

Now more than anything, Minagi wanted time to stop dead in it's tracks and never continue. She dreaded leaving in the first place, but her new cargo was going to cost her a lot more than just a bit of grief and loneliness, it was going to change the whole Masaki household. She wanted to confide in someone or at least be able to release her tension anywhere, but everytime she looked into Ryoko's bright amber eyes, she felt like dying three times in a row just to make sure she wouldn't have to worry about any of this.  
  
Unfortunately time didn't stop. The weekend sped up, and Minagi blinked in disbelief as she was watching Washu upgrade her ship with new communication modules. She wanted to cry, in fact, she did. When questioned, she said she was so happy that she has a loving family. In truth she wanted to just scream "AEKA'S RUNNING AWAY AND I WANT YOU TO STOP HER!" Of course, she kept her promise that she would take the princess in secrecy back to Jurai. Finally it dawned upon her. There WAS someone to talk to about all of this. Quietly climbing the steps to the second level of Tenchi's endless house, she stopped at a door. Perking her ears to hear for any activity, she gently rapped at the door before pushing it open.  
  
"Oh! Hello Minagi!" Tenchi looked up from his books.   
  
Minagi felt the world fall on her head. "Hi Tenchi! I just wanted to see if you needed anything!"  
  
The boy waved his hand. "No, thank you. I'm fine. Ryoko?"  
  
The girl poked her head out of the closet. "I'm fine, thanks."  
  
For the first time in a long time, Minagi laughed and it felt good. Ryoko was horrible at being subtle about certain things, and Minagi heard her stumble all the way to the closet. She felt bad for Tenchi who would have to pick up all the clothes she knocked over. Perhaps she'd help later, just so she could laugh once more. Now that everything was all clear, she turned towards Sasami's room. Breathing a sigh of relief, she knew she could say anything and everything she wanted to Sasami and not worry. The princess was to be notified that her sister was leaving, perhaps they would work together to convince her to stay.  
  
Minagi didn't even bother knocking on the door. She didn't even bother opening it. She simply passed through the fibers of the door and knelt before Sasami who was set on her knees, weeping quietly. Now she felt worse than ever. She wondered just how much trouble she had started by intervening in all of their lives. She just wanted to come to the house to visit, and now she was destroying dreams and making children cry. What kind of a person does this to people? With a lot of hesitation, she placed her hand on Sasami's shoulder, trying to console the girl.   
  
"Why does she have to go?" Sasami's voice became shaky.  
Minagi sighed slowly. "I think it's because she feels like she doesn't belong here anymore. Since Tenchi loves Ryoko, she feels like there's no place for her and no reason for her to stay. She doesn't want to create problems for this family, so she's trying to stay out of the way. It's noble of her to step down and admit she's lost. She's far stronger than you or I who can't stand the thought of leaving here. I wish she would stay just as strongly as you do, but you can't force her to live in pain. Don't you want your sister to be happy?"  
  
Sasami fell into Minagi's lap and sobbed. "If that's how she feels, then she's stupid! This IS her family and there always is a place for her here! Just because she can't be with Tenchi doesn't mean that we don't love her or need her! How can she just be so cruel and leave like that! She doesn't even want to say goodbye to the family that opened their house to her and loved her unconditionally, even though she was different than them."  
  
Minagi reflected on Sasami's words, feeling the hurt in every word the girl spoke. She was absolutely right, Aeka was running away from her problems instead of facing them. She didn't know if staying was going to hurt her, she only knew that she could still flee from her problems and know they couldn't follow. When she went back to Jurai, all would be well, or would it? How was she to guarantee that leaving behind the family she loved so dearly would be the best thing to do? This place that gave her so much joy and happiness and freedom. A place where she could walk freely among men and not worry about people treating her differently because of her social status. Here she wasn't the intangible princess, she was sweet, loving Aeka. Everyone wanted her to stay. Love was always here for her. Absorbing all of this into her, she gently pushed Sasami off of her lap.   
  
"Thank you, little Sasami. Thank you for being more mature than any of us." Minagi looked over her shoulder and then vanished.  
  
Walking towards the bend in the lake where you were out of view from anyone in the house, Minagi drew her hand back and brought it across Aeka's face. The princess stumbled back, holding her face in shock.  
  
"You..." The princess' eyes widened.  
  
"I have never struck someone in my life that didn't deserve it. I've never turned my back on someone that needed me. I've never denied love just because it wasn't the love I thought it to be. I've never forsaken ANYONE, and I thought you would be the same!" Minagi's entire body shook with rage. "I couldn't even talk to Sasami about the guilt I was feeling when I first stepped in there to do so. I made it seem like you were right for being a coward and betraying the feelings of everyone in that house including yourself, Princess Aeka Jurai. You truly have some colossal nerve for the way you use and abuse the love of the people in this house for you. Not once did any of them judge you because of who you were on Jurai. They judged you on who you were in this house, more than an asset, you were a part of their FAMILY. And you turn away so easily from the ones that love you the most just because you're acting like a spoiled princess that can't have her way! I'm ashamed, because I looked up to you for so long. Even when you and Ryoko were bitter rivals, I saw a light in you that made me respect you for who you were, a woman with morals and dignity and a love of life and family. Now all I see is a bitter woman who will never find love and happiness because you can't even see the love that's right in front of your face. THAT love!" Minagi held her hand out towards the house. "That's the only love you have! You think about that, while you're betraying it all!" Minagi turned to walk back towards the house. "We leave tomorrow morning. At least maybe you can tell Sasami you're sorry you're such a failure at being a role model to her. I wouldn't accept your apology if you signed it in blood." Clenching her fist, Minagi vanished from that spot.  
  
Aeka stood holding her face, unable to respond, unable to even breathe. Minagi was right. She was denying a greater love than Tenchi's. The love of the family that had taken her in with no prejudice of who she was or where she came from. How selfish had she been!? To think that it was all about her. Her problems were their problems and theirs were hers. Feeling too ashamed to face Minagi right then and there, she decided to sit by the water and cleanse her soul of all her malice. She felt dirty, like a pirate who had stolen the life of an innocent being. She felt like less than a person for hurting Sasami that way. All she could do was let her emotions go. Pounding the ground, Aeka sobbed into the earth, hoping that it would at least comfort her. She stayed there for a while, just looking for the feelings she tossed away. She felt like she'd be looking forever.  
  
Dinner that night was particularly solemn. Sasami couldn't find the will to cook, even to leave her room. She lay on her futon crying as if the world were coming to an end, and to Minagi and Aeka, they knew for her it very well may have. Minagi dragged her chopsticks through her starchy take-out rice. Aeka hadn't come to dinner and she felt bad for the way she reacted to the princess. She wanted to apologize, but the stubborn part of it believed she deserved every fiber of that slap. Tenchi, weary from studying could only pick at his food, Ryoko inhaling everyone's shares with no remorse. The table seemed so empty with Mihoshi and Kiyone on patrol, Noboyuki working late and Katsuhito skipping dinner to work at the shrine. Washu rarely ever came to the table for meals anymore, and Sasami didn't even want to think of eating. Tenchi, Ryoko and Minagi sat at the table, but only Ryoko seemed content.  
  
"What's everyone's deals?" Ryoko placed her rice bowl down. "Why's it so empty."  
  
Tenchi looked around and nodded in agreement. "Yea, I wonder where everyone is."  
  
Minagi gazed into her clear miso soup. "I think everyone just has a lot on their minds, nowadays."  
  
Ryoko slammed her hands on the table. "But this is your last night here! We should've at least eaten together one last time before you go! That's so like everyone to be so full of themselves that they can't even care about family leaving!" The space pirate felt like forcing everyone into the dining room and making them eat whether they were hungry or not. Instead, she sighed sadly and pushed her own food away. "Now I have no appetite."   
  
"You're absolutely right, Ryoko. We're too full of ourselves to think about our families and loved ones. We should stop thinking the world's all about us." Aeka quietly sat down, picking up a bowl of rice. "This is Minagi's last night, we should all be here to see her off tomorrow." Aeka gazed up at Minagi who looked away once she realized that Aeka had changed her mind. She felt really horrible about slapping her, now.  
  
"It's OK... you don't have to eat if you're not hungry." Minagi spoke softly, hardening her gaze at her soup, hoping she can become as clear as it.  
  
"I'll get Sasami." The princess spoke softly.  
  
Ryoko's face flushed with worry. "What's wrong with the princess?" She thought that Aeka had found out about her and Tenchi. She blinked a few times and flexed her fingers, hoping she wouldn't have to fight the princess to the death tonight.  
  
"Oh don't worry Ryoko, everyone knows about Tenchi and you." came a familiar voice. Mihoshi sat at the table and picked up her pair of chopsticks. "Got off early so I could come say goodbye, you know. We can't just let you leave without making a big deal of it!" her voice was as cheerful as usual.  
  
Kiyone leaned over Minagi's shoulder and smiled softly. "Mihoshi can be absolutely right, sometimes. We can't just let you go without a fun family-filled dinner to remember for your long journey!"  
  
Minagi felt a bit better. After slapping Aeka, she felt like the entire family was offended by her actions, though they didn't see them. Ryoko had felt the sting in her own hand, wondering what the hell Minagi was slapping so hard that even she could feel it. She placed her hand in her lap, contemplating what happened. She started to put two and two together before she realized that maybe Minagi had done something bad.  
  
The small scientist placed a small box in front of Minagi. "I was only late for dinner because I wanted to finish this for you. Take it with you to remember us by whenever you're lonely."   
  
Inside the box, a holographic family photo of everyone including Minagi shone brightly. It seemed so lifelike, standing in 3-D and with details galore. The thoughtful gift brought tears to the pirate's eyes. She felt like she really belonged to this family.  
  
When all was calm, finally, Sasami descended the stairs. Her eyes just as bright as usual, though reddened from her previous crying. Minagi sighed a breath of relief when she saw Sasami laugh with the family again. When Aeka didn't come down, she thought it best to see what was wrong herself.  
  
In the darkness of the room, only Aeka's shilouette could be seen. The princess sat, hunched over and looking miserable. Minagi kneeled at the door, feeling she had no right to come any closer to the princess. "Aeka, I'm really really sorry for the way I acted earlier."  
  
"Do not apologize for doing what's right. You were right. You and Sasami. Do you know what she said to me this morning when I told her I was leaving? She said 'If you don't love yourself, how can you love anyone else?'" The princess sighed slowly. "I didn't understand what she meant by that, but now I realize. I couldn't possibly have seen the love I live with, because I didn't love myself enough to think that anyone could love me. When I met Tenchi, I thought that, that was the only love I could possibly have. I wanted it all to myself. I felt a bit greedy and gluttonous, striving to win all of his affections, but I tried to have it all anyway. I think somewhere in the process, I lost myself as a person. I started to deny that anything could be worthy of love if it wasn't the kind of love that Tenchi could give me. I was too blind to see that he did love me in his own way. It was a love that was unconditional and emotional. He loved me and protected me in a way that may be better than the love a husband can give his wife. Though it feels good to be loved in that way, it feels good to be loved this way as well. I've been hiding a part of myself just so that I can satisfy my inner greed. Who was I?" Aeka spoke softly.  
  
"It was a part of you, that you never knew. We all seem to discover that there are parts of ourselves we never knew we had. Some good, some bad, but all just an element of who we are. If you can't love you, then you can't love anyone else, and if you can't love anyone else, they can't love you." Minagi smiled softly. "Everyone's downstairs, why don't you come eat with us. It's my last night here, I'd be honored if one of my role models joined me for dinner." She tried to lighten the situation.  
  
Aeka embraced Minagi. "I would love to."  
  
Descending the stairs, The princess and Minagi saw that Noboyuki and Katsuhito had joined everyone for dinner. One big happy family, after all.  
  
End of ch. 7  
- one more to go! 


	8. Sayonara, Just Breakin' My Heart

"Wow, the weekend sure got here fast..." Minagi clasped her hands behind her head, passing Washu a saddened stare. They had worked together to install the last of the modules on Minagi's ship. Now she could call "home" whenever she felt like it. She felt a bit better with this new equipment on her ship, but it wasn't the same as being physically there.  
  
Washu smiled softly, trying to comfort the girl. "Time flies when you're having fun. I hate to see you go, Minagi. I wish you'd stay a bit longer."  
  
"There's a whole galaxy with my name on it. I guess I have to do my part while I'm alive too, you know." The young girl spoke. "But I'll be back someday, you better believe it!"  
  
"Yakusoku...?" Came a quieter voice from behind her. Minagi dare not turn to face it's owner. She didn't have the heart to stare into the hurt gaze of someone she loved so dearly. She fought it, but she turned around anyway to meet Ryoko's tear-soaked stare. A stare that seemed to penetrate into the depths of Minagi's soul and expose a part of her she kept suppressed these few days. A sadness and a true face of pain for the loss of her family. Ryoko saw into the child that was inside Minagi, that lost her master at a young age and swore to avenge him. A child who learned sword techniques and who grew up to be a better person that she ever dreamed of being. An adventurous space pirate and a crazy little sister. She saw the Minagi that Minagi hid, because she didn't want to seem so naive to everyone else. They stood for the longest time, Minagi having her layers stripped from her slowly. Layer by layer, Minagi stood, in a sense, naked in front of Ryoko. "Do you promise you'll be back one day, Little Minagi?"  
  
Minagi drew back, feeling like a little girl all over again. Feeling like she found a childhood she lost in Ryoko's eyes. "I gotta come back to see my nephews and nieces, don't I?" She flashed a peace sign. "I'll be back before you know it, Ryoko-chan!" Her smile faded, though. "When Tenchi made the announcement at the dinner table so suddenly last night, I felt like there would be no more secrets from anyone anymore. I felt like now you could really be you. The secret you that you do so well to hide away."  
  
"As you will be the you that you try to hide away." Ryoko stepped closer to Minagi, hoping to feel the sense of her sister being close once more. "I wish you didn't have to leave so soon. There's so much more we could have done."  
  
Minagi's mind flashed about. "Well, we fought in every room, put a hole in Tenchi's wall, blew up Washu's lab twice... we burnt dinner and we even pulled two successful pranks on the princess, I'd say we did well for this visit. I'll come back with a whole new arsenal of mischief for us, trust me when I say." The two embraced for a long time, just trying to remember the way the other felt. The way she'd remember her big sister during the long journey. "Thank you, Ryoko. Thank you for being you."  
  
When Minagi boarded her ship for the first time in months, she felt relieved and saddened. She felt like she did good for her family and friends, but she was sad to leave them behind. Ryoko stood disconnected from the rest of the family, silently fearing living her life without any guards and without Minagi. It seemed like she would have to work double-time to defend who she was without slipping back into the lifeless shell she used to be. Surely Tenchi wouldn't want to be with the Ryoko that pretended to be someone else.  
  
Nightfall would disconnect the rest of the family, each mourning in their own ways. Minagi was kind of like the piece that linked them all together. Her spirit and liveliness really gravitated the family into one central point where they co-existed as one happy entity instead of separate beings just living together. After much consoling, Tenchi left Ryoko in his room where she sat on his bed, gazing out of the skylight, hoping to catch a glimpse of Minagi's ship. Her eyes weren't that good, though, and Minagi was light years away by now. She held up her wrist and gazed down at the communicator that Washu had given her. It linked her closest to Minagi, and she could speak with her sister whenever she pleased. Still, it wasn't the same as long nights of gossip and stories in the Onsen. It's warm waters washing away their guards and leaving them bound by heart and similar appearances, but different aspects of each other.  
  
Tenchi found himself by Minagi's docking point. Her ship wasn't docked in a space rip, but instead docked in a blindspot between Ryoko's cave and the end of the forest. She left her ship there because it didn't seem like it was necessary to go about hiding it. It also made it easier for Washu to work. He hoped to just wander about trying not to miss the girl that had done so much to change his life for the better. He was always so thankful to her, but he never got the chance to say thank you. Tucking his hands into the pockets of his oversized pants, he looked up to catch the eyes of a very curious princess. Her purple eyes flickered and she looked away quickly.   
  
"I'm sorry, Lord Tenchi. I didn't know you were out here." Aeka spoke softly, feeling like she wanted to leave.  
  
Tenchi's shoulders slumped. Realizing he hadn't talked to Aeka since the announcement, he felt really inconsiderate for not saying thank you to Minagi and now not ever considering Aeka's feelings about the whole ordeal. "It's OK. I hope I'm not interrupting you. I just came here to wander around a bit. I'll leave if you wanted to be alone."  
  
"Oh no, that's not it at all. I just..." She looked away, growing solemn and worried about saying something wrong. "Nothing."  
  
Tenchi's head tipped backwards, he thought strongly about the words he'd say next. "Princess Aeka, I'm really sorry about how I've neglected your feelings during all of this. It's just that exploring love like this is new to me, and I spend more time to myself than with Ryoko, just wondering if I'm doing everything right. One thing I never worry about is all of our bonds. I wanted to give you this..." Tenchi held out his hand. "I bought one for each of the girls in the house, so that we could always have a way to be closer. We're all family despite our backgrounds. Even the ones that come and go every so often, never leave our hearts."  
  
Aeka took into her hands, a pendant dangling from a very delicate chain. No doubt the gift had set him back quite a bit, but Aeka came to realize that each one was personalized. Had Tenchi been saving up for this for a very long time? Now she really felt the impact of Minagi's love. These people really did love her in more ways than one. All the presents her mother had sent her, were thoughtful gifts from mother to daughter. In attempts to ease her loneliness and homesickness, she allowed these gifts to comfort her. Now the chain she held before her with a simple angel pendant bore the engraving "Masaki" in the corner. It was a small Angel that could be easily concealed and easily protected. She realized that this gift was meant to ease her true homesickness. The sickness she'd felt inside for the home she'd been denying for a long time. Now she was really a part of this family that really loved her. Tears sprang to her eyes as she felt shame for being so selfish before. "Thank you... for this gift of love, Tenchi."  
  
"I love you all the same." Tenchi smiled softly, offering Aeka a sleeve.  
  
Aeka gently dabbed her eyes with Tenchi's sleeve. "I know that now."  
  
They gazed to the sky, noticing the bright flash of light. They hoped it was Minagi, hailing them from where they watched her. Minagi who was holding onto her very own angel with the Masaki inscription in the corner. The one Tenchi had given to her the night before she left. Closing her eyes, she felt as one with everyone.  
  
Aeka was the last to receive the angel pendant. Everyone wore theirs proudly. Ryoko held onto hers as she wished Minagi would come back. A shooting star zoomed by, she hoped that it heard her prayers.   
  
It was late when everyone gathered around outside, lighting fireworks just for the fun of it. Out in the country, no one was there to complain about a few loud bursts in the air.   
  
"The fireworks are so bright that it seems to light up the sky!" Mihoshi beamed.  
  
Everyone grew silent. The sky did seem brighter.   
  
"Hey, you're right, Mihoshi!!" Sasami turned towards the sky. "Look how much brighter it is!"  
  
Washu's face dropped. "I don't think that's the fireworks..." she stepped back. "Shields up!" The little scientist's fingers moved at lightning speed. A huge panel appeared before the group, shielding them from the huge explosion in front of them.  
  
When the smoke cleared, there lay a ship in ruins, totally beyond repair - or at least quite a lot of work for one particular scientist who seemed bemused that she would have something new to do. A body stumbled from the wreckage. Tenchi squinted into the haze of dust and falling debris. The form started to take shape, hair spiked to various points, curves that would make a cola bottle seem shapeless. The form put a hand to it's face to wipe the soot from it's eyes. A pair of amber eyes flashed in the firelight before everyone realized that Minagi was standing before them once more.  
  
"Washu-chan... I think you crossed some wires..." She pointed over her shoulder to the busted ship.  
  
Washu sweatdropped. "These accidents do happen, you know!" She pranced towards her new conquest.  
  
Ryoko smiled softly, thanking her shooting star (and Washu) for making her prayers come true.  
  
"Hey Tenchi, do you mind if I stick around for just a little bit longer?" Minagi laughed. "I'm sorta grounded for a while." The girl stared at her mature double.  
  
Tenchi laughed out loud. "Wellllll if it's OK with Ryoko, it's OK with me!" He passed her a damp cloth to clean her face.  
  
"Stay as long as you'd like, this is your home as well." Ryoko smiled softly. "This is where we truly belong."  
  
Everyone turned their gaze towards Tenchi's house. A strong foundation with walls and windows, doors and locks, but a place of unity for this great family.  
  
And not a secret was kept from you.  
  
END!   
  
Author's Notes: If you don't know, "Yakusoku" means "promise."  
This is my first, and probably last, Minagi fic. Lol I don't really know much more about her other than what I've read in graphic novels and in-depth profiles of her. She's a really great character to work with, because she provides an aspect of Ryoko that not even Zero Ryoko provided, a real depth to Ryoko's character.  
For the first time, I wanted to emphasize on Aeka's reaction to Tenchi and Ryoko getting together. I didn't want to make her seem maniacal or the one to go back to Jurai. I think a lot of fanfic writers out there dumb Aeka down to make it easier to make her "react" to Tenchi's choice of Ryoko. I'm not saying this is what she would do or how she would feel, I just wanted to give her some credit.  
Take note... I WAS NICE TO MIHOSHI!   
I do NOT own Tenchi Muyo or it's characters. Tenchi Muyo is the product of AIC, Pioneer and it's various counterparts. Thanks for reading, though!  
DC02 


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